The existing computer storage media include hard disks, floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, and various memory cards. The hard disks, due to their high stability and capacity, have become necessary storage tools for every personal computer, server, or any other device which needs a digital storage apparatus.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the computer metal housing 9, which is one of the housings of most personal computers or servers, is equipped with several disk drive slots 91 and 92 for the 5.25-inch and 3.5 inch disk drives. The 5.25-inch disk drive slots 91 provide a space for the user to install a 5.25-inch CD-ROM drive, a 5.25-inch CD burner, or a 3.5-inch replaceable disk drive having a 5.25-inch housing. Furthermore, the 3.5-inch disk drive slot 92 provides a place for the user to selectively install a 3.5-inch hard disk, an 1.44-inch floppy disk drive that meets the requirements of the 3.5-inch specification, or a card reader, etc . . .
Generally speaking, 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch are the major specifications for the disk drives installed within the bodies of computers, wherein a 5.25-inch hard disk is mounted at the inside of the 5.25-inch disk drive slot. However, over the years, manufactures of the 5.25-inch hard disks are declining out gradually. Therefore, the space for the 5.25-inch disk drive is rarely to be used, or it is occupied by a 3.5-inch hard disk with an adapting frame. On the other hand, a 3.5-inch hard disk or a 2.5-inch hard disk can be mounted within the 3.5-inch disk drive slot.
Conventionally, only a 5.25-inch hard disk and a 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard disk are mounted within a 5.25-inch disk drive slot and a 3.5-inch disk drive slot hard disk respectively. Therefore, for a single 5.25-inch disk drive and a single 3.5-inch disk drive, an disk-array form of data backup is impossible, and the installation of two hard disks in a disk drive slot is also impossible. It is obvious that the utilization of the conventional 3.5-inch disk drive is seriously limited.
The design concept of the invention is to install two 2.5-inch hard disks within a 3.5-inch RAID module without changing the original structure of the computer housing and the disk drive slots, and to fix the 3.5-inch RAID module having two 2.5-inch hard drives within the 3.5-inch disk drive slot or the floppy disk slot. The concept of the invention can also be applied to any external devices or other apparatus which can be mounted therein with a 3.5-inch SATA hard disk. The concept is valuable with regard to safe data backup and the practicability.